"Old man, how can you marry off Sophia, our greatest beauty, to that poor man? Is your brain rotten or what?"

Her anger grew.

"My beautiful granddaughter can never marry a lowlife. She will marry Chris Roland! He’s wealthy and powerful, and can secure our family's future."

"Chris Roland?" Abraham frowned.

That hypocritical playboy?

"Don’t you know Jerry Roland?" Lady Lancaster snapped.

"He works for Alfred Kingston, who practically owns Vancouver. Chris is his only son. Marrying him ties our family to the Kingstons!"

Sophia’s parents also looked at Alex, and a dissatisfied frown crept onto their faces.

Alex wore a simple shirt typically seen on people of the lower-middle class, cheap and old shoes sold on the street, nothing about him screamed wealth.

If Chris Roland was the young rich man with a company, this man was probably Chris’s cleaning service, paid with the lowest salary.

Thinking their daughter would marry this loser already made their anger rise to the peak.

“No way,” Florence Lancaster, Sophia's mother, whispered. “I will never agree. What will my friends say about my son-in-law? This man will drag my name into the mud!"

"Father," Justin Lancaster, Sophia's father, spoke. "Mother is right; how about we let Sophia decide her own future?"

"Grandfather, I don’t want to marry yet," Sophia hurriedly added.

Abraham shook his head.

"I’m not dead yet—so what is decided is decide."

"Abraham!"

Lady Lancaster's desperation turned to anger.

"Imagine the Lancaster family with Kingston ties! Even after you’re gone, our family would thrive! Don’t you care about your descendants? How can you ruin the Lancaster name for that loser!"

“Sophia will never marry him!" Lady Lancaster insisted. "This is all for Lancaster's future!"

"You know nothing, Amelia!"

Abraham looked at his wife and everyone, “Alex is the man I chose, you better keep your mouth shut and your comments to yourself until you know him.”

“I don’t agree!” Amelia yelled out her decision.

There was Chris Roland, a wealthy and promising young man, who could bring the Lancaster Family unimaginable glory and endless fortune ...

... yet her husband ignored Chris and chose to treat a piece of junk like a treasure!

He must be too old and out of his mind!

“Amelia, do you want me to sign divorce papers for you at our old age?”

Lady Lancaster's face turned pale.

“All of you, I am still the head of Lancaster,” Abraham commanded.

“Sophia, you will marry Alex today. You’ll be grateful for my decision one day!”

From his tone, all of them knew there was no point in arguing anymore.

Even Sophia accepted her fate and sighed.

They all knew Abraham Lancaster could sometimes be harsh and would not tolerate any disrespect.

In about an hour and a half, in a very awkward situation, Sophia and Alex successfully signed all the paperwork and obtained their marriage certificates from the government marriage agency.

Only Abraham showed a big smile when looking at the certificate.

The great Alexander Leonhart finally became his grandson.

He would brag to the Kingswell’ people he knew, sure that many would be green with envy.

Meanwhile, Sophia was still disappointed as she married a worthless man.

‘He can have the marriage certificate but not me!’ Sophia inwardly screamed.

But thinking that loser already got his body, Sophia quickly added, ‘He will never get my heart and my money.’

“Sophia,” Abraham turned to her. “Help him blend in with Vancouver life, show him the many places you used to hang out with your friends.”

The first thing on Sophia's mind when making the marriage certificate was to keep everything secret, yet her grandfather wanted her to show him off?

A mischievous plan suddenly formed in her mind.

“Yes, Grandfather. I will HELP HIM BLEND IN.”

She would let Alex see how he was not worthy of her and let go of her.

Alex sighed.

He didn’t like to force anyone, but somehow his mother's fate was likely in this woman's hands, so he had to follow through.

"Cheer up a bit, will ya? It’s not the end of the world!"

Sophia scowled at him, "Marrying you, the biggest braggart in the world, is already the end of the world for me!"

"Honestly, I am not a bragg—"

"Yes, you are! And you are a loser, jobless and worthless!"

"No, I am not," Alex corrected her.

“I do have a job, I am a doctor, with the title of God’s Hand.”

"Oh, keep bragging! You really have no shame." Sophia scolded.

"Listen, I am doing my grandfather’s wish to take you around, but that’s all. This marriage will not work out even in a thousand years. So, stop daydreaming!”

Alex shook his head and chuckled.

He knew Sophia despised him.

"Sophia, let me show y—"

He wanted to let Sophia see the real him a bit, but she turned her back to him and walked to the parking lot.

A white four-seat Porsche Panamera pulled up and stopped in front of them.

A stunning young woman stepped out of the car with effortless grace, her elegant dress and sparkling jewelry enhancing her high-fashion allure.

"Sophia," she hugged Sophia.

"Lyra, thanks for coming," Sophia replied joyfully.

"I came as soon as I could when I got your text."

Lyra smiled while eyeing Alex from head to toe and shook her head.

Not a single item of value detected from head to toe.

Apart from being a bit handsome and having a somewhat fitting body, this man was totally worthless.

When Sophia texted her and told her that she was forced to marry a loser and needed a helping hand, she had thought Sophia was exaggerating.

But seeing Alex in person made her realize how unlucky Sophia was.

Most of Sophia's suitors usually carried around $250,000 on their bodies.

However, this man here only carried $25 at most.

“Alex, this is Lyra, my best friend.” Sophia suppressed her dislike and tried to sound polite.

"Nice to meet you, Lyra," Alex said, extending his hand to Lyra out of politeness.

However, Lyra retreated, with obvious disgust in her eyes.

“You know what? Riffraff should know their place.”

She ignored Alex's hand and wrapped her hands around Sophia instead.

Alex chuckled coldly and dropped his hand.

“Come on, we are already late for Chris Roland’s event at the Noble Knight Club,” Lyra smiled mischievously.

Almost everybody in Vancouver knew Chris Roland was one of Sophia’s most devoted suitors.

Lyra had always believed Chris would marry Sophia.

Chris’s father worked for Alfred Kingston, while Chris was the CEO of Biohealth Solution, a company that supported Alfred Kingston's business.

Apart from the giant tier, Kingston, there were four lower tiers in Vancouver's wealth and richest realm.

Chris's family could be called third-tier wealth, a level higher than Lancaster wealth.

Thus, from Lyra's point of view, Chris and Sophia were the perfect match.

"Of course," Sophia happily replied. "Alex, you should come with us."

"Sure," Alex raised his brows.

Maybe Sophia, was still listening to her grandfather's wish to take him around.

Meanwhile, Lyra sneered to herself.

She had already warned Chris Roland in advance.

Chris was livid and eager to teach Alex a lesson that would leave him reflecting deeply in a hospital bed.

She would let Alex know he was a frog in the well, really not fitting the rich life and not fit into Sophia’s lifestyle.

"Let us go then."

They entered Lyra’s car, and she took them to the Noble Knight Club.

It was one of the most exclusive martial arts clubs in the city for nobles and rich people only.

No middle class could enter because of the price.

Even the lowest tier of the rich in Vancouver still thought this club was too expensive.

If the lowest class came, they would be shocked to see how members could spend one year of their salary in one day only.

When they arrived, Alex realized it was a martial arts and war machine club.

Nowadays, martial arts were popular, especially swordsmanship, and most people knew some skills, more or less.

"I can’t wait to see Chris during his match," Lyra yelled and quickly dragged Sophia toward the entrance of the club, leaving Alex behind.

The automatic glass opened as it ran facial recognition for the members and the outside guard gave them a respectful bow.

As Alex approached the entrance, the glass door shut right in front of his face.

The guard sneered at him, "Drivers or servants aren't allowed in. Move along."

Lyra smirked as she pulled Sophia away.

"Let him learn his place; he’ll never be where we are."

“Who told you I am a driver or a servant? I want to enter.” Alex said calmly.

“Then become a member,” the guard yawned.

“You think any Tom and lowlife like you can just walk in here? Leave now, or you’ll regret it."

Alex took out his smartphone and pressed the fast call number 9.

“Good day, Mr. Leonhart. I am Julia, your First Royal Mastercard personal concierge. How may I assist you?”

“Do you know where I am right now?”

“Yes, your card has GPS. You are at Vancouver’s Noble Knight Club.”

“I want to become a member.”

“We are processing that now. You can use your Mastercard as the membership card,” Julia replied.

The glass door suddenly opened.

“Your membership has been approved. Do you need anything else, sir?”

“No, thank you.”

Alex put his smartphone in his pocket and walked into the club.

The guard hurriedly blocked his path.

“I think the system made an error. You cannot enter.”

“I am a member here,” Alex explained. “Why do you think the system let me in?”

The guard was confused but asked again, “Do you have a membership card? I want to check it. If you don’t have one, please leave.”

Alex took out his First Royal Mastercard.

The guard had never seen this kind of card before.

“Sir, I don’t think this is a membership card. You cannot enter.”

“Just scan it, or should I call your manager?”

The guard had a bad feeling since the card seemed so luxurious.

He was hesitant, not knowing what might happen, but when the manager came, it could turn ugly.

He chose to scan the card.

The scanner beeped and displayed the member's identity.

The guard was shocked.

He read the identity, and his face turned pale.

Without hesitation, he quickly knelt.

“I am really sorry for not recognizing such a top member. Please forgive me.”

The guard was paralyzed with fear; he had just mocked the top member.

He might get fired, and his family of five would suffer.

“You saw nothing, understood?” Alex said.

“Yes, sir, I saw nothing.”

“Tell me, where did the two girls go?”

***

Sophia and Lyra were warmly welcomed as they entered the club’s main hall.

They exchanged pleasantries until Lyra noticed the frightened guard guiding Alex into the hall.

“Damn,” Lyra whispered to Sophia, “It seems like the guard wants to get in our good graces by letting him in. Shall I call the manager to chase him out?”

“Let him be,” Sophia replied.

“You’re right, Chris will take care of him later,” Lyra said, and they pretended not to know Alex.

"Look! Chris has started his world rank competition online!"

Alex could see what seemed like a real virtual hologram: a man with a sword fighting a man with a spear.

The swordsman in the ring struck his opponent skillfully.

In just four movements, the spearman was cut in two, and the hologram destroyed.

“Chris wins the 1,467th Rank!”

The whole hall applauded.

“He is the best in Vancouver, pushing the 1,500 rank.”

“No one in Vancouver could pass this rank.”

“Yeah, from 10 billion people, he ranks more than 1,500.”

“He is rich, strong, and handsome. Whoever marries him will be very happy!”

“Yeah, who wouldn’t be crazy about him?”

Sophia also felt happy for Chris.

Chris walked from a room with a special combat suit that could connect him to any opponent around the world.

He spotted Sophia and approached her with a smile.

"Sophia, Lyra, I’m glad you’re here."

Just then, Chris’s eyes fell on Alex.

"So that is the scum?"

“Yeah, the riffraff I told you about, Alex." Lyra sneered.

A muscle ticked in Chris’s jaw as he stared coldly at Alex.

How did this loser dare marry his sweetheart?

"I see, so you’re the leech. Divorce Sophia now while I am being kind to you."

“Why?” Alex coldly asked.

“Isn’t it obvious or are you too stupid to realize? You don’t deserve her!”

“Well, my opinion is just the opposite. I believe that, in every way, I am deserving of her.”

Sophia’s eyes widened at Alex’s shameless remark.

“How naive! You don’t have any wealth that makes you fit for her.” Chris sneered.

“Believe me, you are poorer than me by at least a thousand times in terms of wealth.”

Chris frowned and eyed Alex disdainfully.

Indeed, this was an ignorant fool with no shame.

"You know what, if you’re a man, join me for a bout."

Alex shook his head.

"I don’t play with children. People will say I’m a bully."

"BOO! Shame on you!"

Some of Chris’s fans were angry.

“This coward doesn’t dare!”

"If you’re scared, just say it."

"Yeah, there is no need to deny it! Damn bastard."

"You are scared, aren’t you?" Chris mocked.

“Scared? Of you?” Alex laughed. “So cute of you.”

Chris’s eyes turned red with fury.

“A man can be destroyed but not insulted. If you dare, prove it then! Let’s fight there.”

“If you lose, I want you to divorce Sophia right now.” Chris added, revealing his final aim.

“What if I win?” Alex asked.

“You win?” Chris sneered disdainfully.

How could that be possible? He never considered that.

No one in Vancouver could beat him in virtual combat.

Meanwhile, a round of laughter erupted in the club.

"Oh my goodness! What shameless boasting and audacity!"

“Chris, teach that village boy some manners.”

“What do you want?” Chris scoffed.

“Do you have a house in Vancouver? Put the biggest one up.”

Alex looked at him expressionlessly and added, “Since you’re so eager to embarrass yourself, I’ll let you have your way.”